A Soldier's Story: Lieutenant Colonel Eunice Florence Young



Born on May 21, 1913, in Arkport, New York, Lieutenant Eunice F. Young, after her graduation from Arkport Central School, moved to Arizona to attend nursing school and then, in 1939, joined the U.S. Army and was assigned to the military hospital in Manila, Philippines.


After caring for patients, under fire, in the Malinta Tunnel during World War II, she, along with 78 other nurses (both Army and Navy), was captured by enemy soldiers and sent to the Santo Tomas Internment Camp.   She was a prisoner of war for almost three years.

During that time, the nurses, while caring for patients in the prison hospital, maintained consistent acts of defiance.  Lieutenant Young maintained a hidden diary, and the nurses, to aggravate the guards, would space themselves far enough apart that the guards would have to bow upwards of 30 times when performing inspections.



The conditions at Santo Thomas were harsh, and the nurses were starving. Lieutenant Young, upon liberation, weighed 110 pounds (she was 5' 6").

She, along with the other nurses, has been immortalized by the title "The Angels of Bataan and Corregidor", although Lieutenant Young insists she did nothing heroic.

After her liberation on February 3, 1945, the Saturday Evening Post reported her story in the article Three Years Outside This World on May 5, 1945. She remained in the Army, working as a nurse until her retirement in 1961.

Lieutenant Young died on January 10, 1995, and rests in the Arkport Heritage Hill Cemetery.

* Read about a.d. elliott's Everyday Patriot Project here*

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a.d. elliott is a wanderer, writer, and photographer currently living in Salem, Virginia. 

In addition to the travel writings at www.takethebackroads.com, you can also read her book reviews at www.riteoffancy.com and US military biographies at www.everydaypatriot.com

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Location: Arkport, NY 14807, USA

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